Trade Names

Trade names are legal entities. Americans tend to use trade names in a casual manner. This may be fine in casual conversation, but be careful when writing for both an international audience or an American audience. For example, people often use google as a verb. This is fine in casual conversation but not appropriate for professional communications. Here is an example:

• Google the term object-oriented programming for more information.

It is better to write this as:

• Enter object-oriented programming in a search engine to find more information.

Not all trade names are international. Often a trade name becomes so popular that people use it incorrectly when referring to a generic brand. However, a trade name is a legal entity. For example, many people order a Coke when they are in a restaurant. Coke is a trade name of the Coka Cola company. Unless you specifically want that brand, you should say a cola drink which could mean Pepsi or any generic brand. Coka Cola won a lawsuit about this issue. That is why when you ask for a Coke, a waitress may ask if Pepsi or some other brand of cola is fine.

The following list includes some popularly used brand names and the equivalent generic term. This list is from the book The Elements of Technical Writing by Gary Black & Robert W. Bly (ISBN: 0-02-013085-6), pages 57-59.

• Band-Aid - bandage
• Bufferin - buffered aspirin
• Highligher - yellow marking pen
• Liquid Paper - correction fluid
• Magic Marker - permanent marker
• Ping-Pong - table tennis
• Plexiglas clear - acrylic plastic
• Realtor - real-estate agent
• Scotch - Tape clear tape
• Styrofoam - extruded plastic
• Sweet 'n Low - sugar substitute
• Tabasco - red-pepper sauce
• Valium - muscle relaxer
• Vaseline - petroleum jelly
• Velcro - fabric fastener
• Windbreaker - waterproof jacket
• Wite-Out - correction fluid
• Xerox - photocopy